KEY
A
C
R
O
S
T
I
C
Letters vertically depend on the Acrostic Word Choice
Words across are generally 10
M Much clamor to affirm
A A Marx Von Appenzell who x7
R revels in work, We are
X Excited to affix
V (F) Fantastic award stuff
O Of words that will echo
N noted dedication.
A Accord[ed] Silver Wheel today
P Presented at SWRC [Southern Region War Camp] 10
P Put by Royals that keep
E East’s traditions alive
N In Barony Carillion 8
Z (S) So Brennan & Caoilfhionn Praise 7
E Eastern Royal way
L Let all here know of this, well
L Lauded Marx Von Appenzell 8
What's in a BLOG?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.
The recipient is, as described in the recommendation, someone who has slipped through the cracks. They are also an incredibly dedicated member of my group, the Shire of Midland Vale.
I immediately thought of Acrostic poetry. They have a very firm Swiss persona of the mid 1300s acrostics have been used since Ancient Greece. In particular the Dutch national anthem written in the 1500s. It was a very popular poetry form throughout history.
With this scroll I chose to make it double acrostic. So the last letter of each sentence is the same as the first. As far as I can tell, the double acrostic was not a period practice, but I wanted the challenge that it represented and set to work!
First, I had to figure out how many words across to make the acrostic. For Armerigus awards, I try not to go over a hundred words, and their name was already 18 letters long. Some rough math later, and I determined that 6 syllables per line would get me to approximately 100 words.
I honestly don’t think this scroll would have been possible without one of the features on Dictionary.com. It allowed me to search for words that ended in particular letters.
M Much clamor to affirm
A A Marx Von Appenzell who x7
I really wanted to put their name in the beginning of the scroll and just could not think of a proper word to finish the sentence with. It was also going to be over my 6 syllable limit, which is often an issue in regards to a person’s name. In the end I just let it slip by. Sometimes the scroll dictates it so.
I could not figure out how to end this on an A. In the Ancient Norse verse forms all vowels can be treated as the same. However in the later periods this is, as far as I have discovered, not the case. I just couldn’t figure anything out that made sense. Alas.
R revels in work, We are
X Excited to affix
Revels/Are, was a bit of a cheat. While are does not end in an r, the sound does, so I let it stand as it is.
V (F) Fantastic award stuff
In the Dutch National Anthem they replaced V with F when it came to the acrostics and I chose to do the same thing. F is a much easier letter to use than V.
O Of words that will echo
N noted dedication.
A Accord[ed] Silver Wheel today
This is the first of two differences from what is on the scroll to what is to be said. It’s a small thing, but with TRM coming after this statement I wanted the past tense of accord. Even though it added an extra syllable to my sentence.
P Presented at SWRC [Southern Region War Camp] 10
This sentence is not only different from the written scroll, but the changes affect the word count. A common abbreviation for Southern Region War Camp is SRWC. While the abbreviation certainly aids in the word count I wanted Camp to be read out loud to complete the double acrostic. The name of the event was also going to exceed the syllable count. There are the allowances we make for the requirements of the scroll.
P Put by Royals that keep
E East’s traditions alive
N In Barony Carillion 8
Z (S) So Brennan & Caoilfhionn Praise 7
Here I also did a consonant switch,and replaced Z with S. This was a decided improvement on the availability of words and rhymes I could use. Especially as this was naming TRM, and as names, cannot be changed to tweak the syllables.
E Eastern Kingdom’s way
L Let all here know of this, Well
L Lauded Marx Von Appenzell 7
The acrostic poem does not call for rhyming couplets, so that it ended on one was a coincidence. It also amuses me that end alliterative words both had double Ls!
As far as it goes, the scroll isn’t that personal. It easily could have been a fairly boring scroll with each act of the recipient’s service as many different officer positions and his considerable acumen in the heavy list and martial activities. By turning that into a regimented poetry style I feel we can spend more time singing their praises. Their individual work can easily be found via their wiki.
This scroll was difficult, but in an exceedingly fun way. I truly hope the recipient enjoys it as much as I had fun making it!
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